RL 2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

RL 5: Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

RF 4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Enduring Understandings:

Prior Experience:

It is helpful if students have already explored and selected their stories for the storytelling unit. If they bring copies of their stories to class, students will have an easier time creating their story maps and rehearsing.

Author’s Note:

Lesson 1: Story Maps

Lesson 2: Character Voices

Complete lesson plans are included in the attachment.

These lessons are intended as an introduction to a storytelling unit to prepare students for an event such as Utah’s Timpanogos Storytelling Festival or the Jordan Schools District Story Weaver’s Festival. Teachers should have copies of published folk tales, fairy tales, myths, legends, fables, and tall tales available for students to select their stories. After learning how to map the beginning, middle, and end of a story in these lessons, students should be prepared to map their own selected stories and begin rehearsing for the festival.

Guidelines for the story festival might include

Stories must be told from memory and not read aloud.

Stories should be 3-5 minutes long.

The story must be a published folk tale, fairy tale, myth, legend, fable, or tall tale.

The story should have a recognizable beginning, middle, and end with supporting details.